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Tonight for the first time I mean to nominate "no religion" on the census. This is quite a big decision for me. I seem to have finally decided that I don't believe in deities. Given that, I'm not prepared for anyone else to tell me what to think. However, I do believe in morals, which is interesting. Perhaps it is amazing arrogance to feel that I can make decisions for myself on right and wrong, but if there is no deity, how can any person be any better qualified to advise? and if there is no deity, why does it matter whether we do the "right" thing or not?
Still I bumble along trying to be the best person I can manage to be, while protecting my sense of centre as best I can. If I can't find my centre I'm no use to myself or anyone else. Sigh. I'm still developing thoughts on this topic, suspect I always will be. I do believe in balance and beauty, music and excellent design, endeavour and learning, fairness and caring, kindness and wonder. Some would say they are evidence of god. I believe in most of the things my few religious friends do, but not all and I find it impossible to respect "the church" wholus bolus. I love singing (some) christmas carols but I reckon that is more about music and tradition than the god stuff. It's possible I still have agnostic tendencies. Agnosticism still probably counts as "no religion" for census purposes and makes no practical difference to how I live my life.
I may not be willing to be told what to think but I love quotes and writings that make sense to me. That capture things I believe in. Or act as reminders to work towards. Or make me think. Or read as truisms and sometimes amusing. One source of these is the silly daily desk calendars I have used for years. Each day has a quote and if one "speaks" to me, I save it. I've been doing that for years. On occasion I go through them and cull back to the best few. Sometimes they repeat and I have often saved the same one twice. Below are my picks from the last couple of years in rough order of profundity. Hopefully somewhere around is the little collection from the few years before that. I'm not going to record who said them, I don't actually care. So here goes, exposing aspects of my world view even more than usual:
Great souls have wills, feeble ones have only wishes
Respect is something you earn. You can't beg, borrow or steal it.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored
No fine work can be done without concentration and self-sacrifice and toil and doubt
The knowledge of the world is only to be acquired in the world and not in a closet
Learning preserves the errors of the past as well as it's wisdom
Little minds are interested in the extraordinary, great minds in the commonplace
Wit is the salt of conversation, not the food
Enthusiasm is the greatest asset in the world. It beats money, power and influence.
Insight plus hindsight, equals foresight
Anything that can become tangled around something else, will.
Oh, interesting, I felt the need to cull one from publication. It will stay in my list but reads as potentially offensive, at least without discussion.
Enough philosophy for one evening. I'm off to make dinner and try not to succumb to the (yet another) threatening cold. Oh, and fill out the census.
Still I bumble along trying to be the best person I can manage to be, while protecting my sense of centre as best I can. If I can't find my centre I'm no use to myself or anyone else. Sigh. I'm still developing thoughts on this topic, suspect I always will be. I do believe in balance and beauty, music and excellent design, endeavour and learning, fairness and caring, kindness and wonder. Some would say they are evidence of god. I believe in most of the things my few religious friends do, but not all and I find it impossible to respect "the church" wholus bolus. I love singing (some) christmas carols but I reckon that is more about music and tradition than the god stuff. It's possible I still have agnostic tendencies. Agnosticism still probably counts as "no religion" for census purposes and makes no practical difference to how I live my life.
I may not be willing to be told what to think but I love quotes and writings that make sense to me. That capture things I believe in. Or act as reminders to work towards. Or make me think. Or read as truisms and sometimes amusing. One source of these is the silly daily desk calendars I have used for years. Each day has a quote and if one "speaks" to me, I save it. I've been doing that for years. On occasion I go through them and cull back to the best few. Sometimes they repeat and I have often saved the same one twice. Below are my picks from the last couple of years in rough order of profundity. Hopefully somewhere around is the little collection from the few years before that. I'm not going to record who said them, I don't actually care. So here goes, exposing aspects of my world view even more than usual:
Great souls have wills, feeble ones have only wishes
Respect is something you earn. You can't beg, borrow or steal it.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored
No fine work can be done without concentration and self-sacrifice and toil and doubt
The knowledge of the world is only to be acquired in the world and not in a closet
Learning preserves the errors of the past as well as it's wisdom
Little minds are interested in the extraordinary, great minds in the commonplace
Wit is the salt of conversation, not the food
Enthusiasm is the greatest asset in the world. It beats money, power and influence.
Insight plus hindsight, equals foresight
Anything that can become tangled around something else, will.
Oh, interesting, I felt the need to cull one from publication. It will stay in my list but reads as potentially offensive, at least without discussion.
Enough philosophy for one evening. I'm off to make dinner and try not to succumb to the (yet another) threatening cold. Oh, and fill out the census.
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